| Sweets may decrease production of | | | | types of stress -- psychological and |
| glucocorticoid, a stress-related hormone that has | | | | physical."Psychological stress could involve such |
| been linked to obesity and decreased immune | | | | things as public speaking, being threatened, or |
| response, researchers from the University of | | | | coping with the death of a loved one.Examples of |
| Cincinnati (UC) have found."Glucocorticoids are | | | | physical stress are injury, illness, or prolonged |
| produced when psychological or physical stressors | | | | exposure to cold.No Weight Increase |
| activate a part of the brain called the 'stress | | | | ObservedFor the study, researchers gave adult |
| axis,'" says Yvonne Ulrich-Lai, PhD, a postdoctoral | | | | male rats free access to food and water, and |
| fellow in the department of psychiatry."These | | | | also offered them a small amount of either a |
| hormones help an individual survive and recover | | | | sugar drink, an artificially sweetened drink, or |
| from stress, but have been linked to increased | | | | water twice a day.After two weeks, the rats |
| abdominal obesity and decreased immune function | | | | were given a physical and psychological stress |
| when produced in large amounts," she | | | | challenge. Following both types of stress, rats that |
| adds."Finding another way to affect the body's | | | | had consumed the sugar drink had lower |
| response to stress and limit glucocorticoid | | | | glucocorticoid levels than those that drank the |
| production could alleviate some of these | | | | water. Those drinking the artificially sweetened |
| dangerous health effects," Dr. Ulrich-Lai | | | | drink showed only slightly reduced glucocorticoid |
| suggests.The laboratory findings were presented | | | | levels.Although the researchers were not studying |
| on November 15 at the annual Society for | | | | the health effects of the sweetened drinks, they |
| Neuroscience meeting in Washington, | | | | did not see a body-weight increase in the rats |
| DC.Psychological and Physical StressDr. Ulrich-Lai | | | | consuming the sugar drinks.The next step will be |
| and a team of researchers from the department | | | | to determine how these sweetened drinks are |
| of psychiatry showed that when laboratory rats | | | | decreasing glucocorticoid production, notes James |
| chose to eat or drink sweet snacks their bodies | | | | Herman, PhD, co-author, professor and stress |
| produced lower levels of glucocorticoid."The | | | | neurobiologist in the department of psychiatry."We |
| sweets we are talking about are not the | | | | need to find out if there are certain parts of the |
| low-calorie, sugar-substitute variety," says Dr. | | | | brain that control the response to stress," he |
| Ulrich-Lai. "We actually found that sugar snacks, | | | | says, "then determine if the function of these |
| not artificially sweetened snacks, are better | | | | brain regions are changed by sugar snacking. |
| 'self-medications' for the two most common | | | | |